


I'll Wait Forever If I Have To

by Rellanka



Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [55]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24800416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rellanka/pseuds/Rellanka
Summary: Cloud gets hurt, gets a visitor at his hospital bed, and then gets an ultimatum. The first two happen far too commonly. The last one is new.
Relationships: Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697269
Comments: 2
Kudos: 81





	I'll Wait Forever If I Have To

“Is there nowhere I can go to escape you?” Cloud glared at Leon from where he was swaying slightly and trying to pretend he **wasn’t** , half turned to the side in an attempt to hide where he’d been hit from Leon’s gaze. 

_You’re basically bleeding out right now, and that’s what you say to me?_ Leon thought, a feeling of very particular frustration creeping up on him in a way that was starting to become familiar. Strangely, it only seemed to pop up around Cloud. 

“Or you could say, ‘Thanks for coming to rescue me.’“ He drawled sardonically as he tried to get a good look at the wound that Cloud kept shifting to hide from him. 

Cloud visibly bristled, and Leon wondered if it was just his imagination or an actual effect of all the mako within the man that was causing Cloud’s hair to look similar to the fur on a ruffled cat’s back.

“I didn’t ask for a rescue. I had the situation handled.” Cloud said in a growl. 

“Right. Sure.” Leon quipped pseudo brightly, sending Cloud a look that hopefully made it clear how well Leon thought he’d been handling it. “But we’re going to take you to the hospital now.” He continued in a much more worried tone as he noticed that the puddle of blood collecting at the other man’s feet had started to spread. 

“I don’t need a-“ 

But whatever Cloud didn’t need was forever going to remain a mystery, because it was at the point that the blood loss finally caught up to him, and he collapsed right into Leon’s arms. 

The worry overwhelmed any sort of amusement over the situation currently, but later, after Leon had gotten Cloud the help he needed…

Well, Leon was going to give him _so much shit_ for this later. 

(There were at least three different memes that Yuffie had once shown him that could apply to this very scenario.)

***

Predictably, Cloud’s first words to Leon weren’t ‘Thank you.’ Or ‘Don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there.’ Or ‘I’ve now realized how amazing you are and would like to be taken to bed _immediately_.’ Or anything fun like that. 

No, they were,

“Any jokes about me fainting straight into your arms, and I’m going to punch you.” Cloud croaked out after he’d woken up and taken in the form sitting by his bedside with bleary, dazed eyes. 

“Yeah, that’s a real threat with the state you’re in right now. I might even have to go get a wet napkin for protection.” Leon drawled back dryly, openly doing a once-over of Cloud’s body stretched out in the hospital bed, bruised and barely stitched back together as it was. 

Cloud didn’t reply to that, just stared challengingly into Leon’s eyes for a moment before finally turning his gaze away and asking gruffly, “Funny. Don’t you have more important things to do than sit by my bedside and make jokes, Leonhart?” 

_Trying to get me to leave? Or… do you_ want _me to stay, Cloud?_

Leon shrugged, allowing none of his thoughts to show as he casually stretched his legs out and relaxed further into his chair, “No, not really. Everyone else has things pretty much handled, and more importantly, none of them have gotten themselves into any trouble I need to get them out of today. I’m pretty set until someone does. Besides, Aerith was pretty clear about what she’d do to me if I left you alone. Pretty sure she’d rain down hellfire on me if I gave you the chance to sneak out before you were fully healed. And if she doesn’t, her girlfriend sure as heck will.” 

Tifa was just as sick and tired as Aerith of Cloud sneaking out while he was still injured to get _even more injured_. Though Leon still wasn’t sure that either of them managed to beat his annoyance over that habit of Cloud’s. 

Cloud bristled again, and Leon really needed to stop picturing him with cat ears whenever he did so. It was ruining his ability to keep focused on the topic at hand. 

“Aerith isn’t that scary.” He said challengingly. 

Leon raised an eyebrow at him, a little impressed, mostly incredulous. 

“You know, with anyone else I’d be like ‘yeah, right, sure you believe that’ but with the amount of times you’ve risked upsetting her by taking off and then coming back bloody and half dead, I really would buy that you mean that.”

 _Maybe that’s why you always ignore Aerith and Tifa- and everyone else- when they try to warn you against doing things that are going to leave you in conditions exactly like the one you’re in right now._

Cloud huffed and looked stubbornly away from him, crossing his arms and remaining silent at Leon’s accusations, both spoken and unspoken. 

Leon didn’t try to make him talk. Why do that, when he knew from experience that the better idea was to wait patiently for Cloud to say whatever thing was obviously bothering him. 

There was silence in the room for a long time, before Cloud finally asked coldly, “What are you doing, Leonhart? What are you doing **here**? We already agreed that that night was a one-time thing. That it wasn’t going to lead to a relationship or… or anything more. Why did you come after me? Why are you here now? Just because I let you fuck me, doesn’t mean… doesn’t mean that we should be… this.” 

Cloud gestured between the two of them as if the very situation was wrong, was ridiculous, was something bad. 

_You let me fuck you a lot more than_ once _, Cloud._ Leon thought with a hard bite of anger, stiffening with it until his posture went from relaxed to upright and perfect, hands clenching tightly to the armrests of his chair to resist the urge to reach out for the delicate neck of the man lying on the hospital bed. He was about to snap something as equally hurtful right back at Cloud before he caught himself. 

He closed his eyes and took in a deep, deep breath before letting it out.

Getting into an argument with Cloud and then storming out without discussing anything important was probably both exactly what the man wanted, and also something that wasn’t going to help anything. 

When he opened his eyes again, he met Cloud’s, taking in the nervousness and uncertainty lurking in their depths at Leon’s uncharacteristic calmness to Cloud’s taunt. Cloud wasn’t used to this, wasn’t used to a Leon that responded calmly rather than snapped back angrily. It left him visibly unbalanced, and Leon hoped that maybe that would be what it took to make the other man actually listen. 

“What if I disagree?” Leon began softly, steadily, shooting off each question quickly before Cloud could deny them or interrupt, “What if I disagreed the first time you said that it was only a one-time thing? What if I wanted more? What if I’ve _always_ wanted more? What if I’m done letting you push me away when I know that we could be so much more for each other than you’ll let us be? I may have been willing to wait because I know what you’ve lost and I know that you have a good reason to be scared, Cloud, but I’m starting to lose patience. So you need to tell me right here and now if you want anything romantic with me. If you don’t, ask me to leave right now and I’ll leave you alone for good. I really will. But if you do want me, all I’m asking for right now is that you stop denying the potential between us. I can wait for the rest, I can. I can be patient until you’re ready; you don’t even have to say anything right now. Just… stop acting like I have no right to be a part of your life, Cloud. At least do that.”

Leon waited patiently for his answer, and was a little disappointed when none came. 

Still, Cloud turned his eyes away rather than ask Leon to leave, clenching tightly to the blankets with fists that Leon could see were shaking with nerves. 

That was enough for Leon, that silence. Especially when he could see how much even that small concession was costing Cloud. 

And so Leon stayed. 

And continued to wait.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've never played FFVIII OR Kingdom Hearts, which is why this is 1 of only 2 Leon/Cloud fics I have written. My knowledge of KH basically comes from tumblr posts and the couple of Leon/Cloud fics I've clicked on. Still, I feel like I have about as good a grasp on what's going on as any long time fan, or at least that's the impression I've gotten. No one really knows anything because there is no piece of canon that isn’t unnecessarily complicated! So that's gotta mean that this could be realistic and IC somewhere, right? (No, really, if I got Leon and KH Cloud really OOC, please let me know.)


End file.
